1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of cycling including any vehicle or device that requires the use of pedals, such as bicycles and exercise or stationary bicycles. In particular, this invention includes an outer hollow tube including a plurality of locking pin holes, an inner rod including at least one locking pin, a means for attaching a pedal to the inner rod, and a means for attaching the invention to a crank arm of a pedal device or vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to use a pedal of a conventional bicycle or exercise bicycle, one must generally push against the pedal in a downward direction. Typically, the plane of the pedal is horizontal or parallel to the ground and the user's foot is parallel to the plane of the pedal. For persons who have a physical condition wherein one or both feet or legs are either everted or inverted with respect to the vertical midline of the body, the use of a standard pedal can be problematic due to the unnatural position of such a user's foot, which may not be comfortably positioned parallel to the horizontal plane. For such a person, applying force to the pedal may be inefficient and may cause stress and injury to the joints of the legs and feet. It is therefore desirable to have a device which allows the pedal to tilt in such a manner as to be adjustable to fit the position of the user's foot.
Prior techniques for adjusting a pedal generally require modification of the pedal itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,915 discloses a structure that allows a pedal to tilt to accommodate the position of a user's foot. The structure so disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,915 is a type of pedal that pivots on its platform. U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,408 discloses a pedal with cushioned multi-axis movement. However, the inventor of this instant invention believes there are better ways of achieving the desired result. Accordingly, there exists a need for a device that may be used with existing pedals and crank arms without further modification.